Toni Kroos: I learned how to defend and win titles at Real Madrid

Toni Kroos got his call-up for the German national team as a 17-year-old and has since earned every match played for his country and current team Real Madrid.

Ahead of Germany’s friendly match against Spain, the 28-year-old midfielder spoke with reporters on many issues, particularly his maturity as a footballer and personal view of the Spanish side which he said, boasts of more Madrid players.

Image: Toni Kroos

‘Madrid is not in a bad shape as critics think, if the club provides more than half of the Spanish side,’Kroos started when asked about his opinion on the Whites’ lack of consistency and poor performance in La Liga this season.

‘Well, the first thing that occurs to me is that there’s a reason we have 6 players in the Spain side…We can’t be doing that badly,’ he continued.

‘The club has many players who received call-up from Lopetegui in the past, too. It’s worth celebrating, not because Madrid have a special competitive gene but of course we do have many of the best players in the world in every position.’

Kroos maintained that Madrid competes from a position of strength in the Spanish league and global football campaigns because there are high-quality footballers to choose from. This, he said, is the reason Lopetegui could overlook players from Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla and other top class teams.

‘We’ve played in the finals of the biggest club competitions in recent seasons and we’ve won them all,’ the German machine said.

‘You can see there’s Isco, Asensio and Sergio Ramos,’ he continued. ‘I won’t be fazed by the presence of these world class players on Friday, and the fact that they’re people I know very well makes this competition a remarkable one, such that I’m very grateful for.’

Talking about his World Cup dreams, Kroos, who won the global football trophy with Germany in 2014, described his national team is superb.

‘We’re the reigning World Cup holders,’ he spurted, adding that he’s ready for another memorable experience in the upcoming Russia 2018 World Cup.

‘During my time at Madrid, I have learned not only how to win titles, but also how to defend them,’said the former Bayern Munich and Leverkusen player who also admitted the game against Spain is going to be an attractive game to watch and also a good test ahead of the World Cup.

Location for the match is yet to be fixed but there are speculations it could be in Russia or Dusseldorf.

In his farewell message, the World Cup winner said: ‘I wish all my teammates from Real Madrid all the luck in the world, not just not in Friday’s game.’

Kroos also expressed sadness that he can’t expect to play against Spain at the World Cup unless both teams make it through to the semi-finals. ‘It would be wonderful for both sides if we meet one game away from the final, but we can’t get ahead of ourselves because the World Cup is a very difficult competition…Germany can retain the trophy, of course.’